Mr. Obama

[UserNameGoesHere]

Someone explain this to me because maybe I'm just not understanding something here. But it seems to me every U.S. President prior to Obama was addressed as President and then their last name. But I hear Mr. Obama all the time. Shouldn't it be President Obama?

I was taught you should address someone with the highest title they have. You address someone with a doctorate as Dr. and then their last name, not Mr. last name. You address a judge as Judge last name, or "His honor", or similar. So why is it usually "Mr. Obama" and not "President Obama"?

[welsh_girl]

I've only ever heard him referred to as President Obama here in the UK.

[Untimely Friction]

~Racism~

[dore]

it plays along with the he-isn't-fit-to-be-president narrative that was the undertones of the birther stuff. it's a way to imply he's illegitimate while just making it sound like a slip of the tongue

[top]

There are people of all ages who just can't seem to grow up.

[Reincarnate]

It's just part of the antagonistic rhetoric.

Obamacare instead of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Death Tax instead of Estate Tax
"Pro-life" as a way to make "pro-choice" folk look like they're "against life"
Democrat Party instead of the Democratic Party
Enhanced Interrogation instead of torture
Redistribution of wealth instead of taxing the rich
Broadening the tax base instead of taxing the poor
Welfare queens instead of poor black women
Tax relief instead of tax cuts
Job creators instead of wealthy citizens
"Defense of marriage"
"Trickle-down economics" instead of, well, taking the piss
"War on Christmas"
"Class warfare"
Climate change instead of global warming
Government takeover instead of healthcare reform

The list goes on and on and on and on

[Reincarnate]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/79673.html

“Do not say: ‘entitlement reform,’ ‘privatization,’ ‘every option is on the table,’” the National Republican Congressional Committee said in an email memo. “Do say: ‘strengthen,’ ‘secure,’ ‘save,’ ‘preserve, ‘protect.’”

In other words, every time you hear the GOP say that we need to "strengthen and preserve Medicare," they really mean "privatize it" and turn it into a voucher/premium support system, which in this case might as well be called "health coupons."

EDIT: Hell, even "entitlements" have their own rhetoric-loading, since you'll often hear the word used in a derogatory fashion to imply that people feel "entitled" to something they "deserve."

Language = powerful shit.

Almost as funny as the High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Master Fund. XD

A brilliant skit (took place before the crisis, too)

- What is it about it that attract the financial, you know, risk-takers ?

- Yes, well, because, these firms, these hedge-funds as they're called, which specialises in these debts, hamm, they all have very good names.

- You mean they are responsible companies.

- No, no, I don't, it's, it's nothing to do with reputation, they have actually very very good names, the names, to think of, are very good. I'll give you an example : there's a very well known american Wall Street firm called Bear Stern's-

- Mmhm-

- Who have two of these hedge funds which specialises in these mortgage debts, and, aaah, they lost so much money, well, lost so much of it's value, that Bear Stern's announced that they would have to put in 3.2 billions dollars, into one of the funds, to try to keep it afloat-

- 3.2 billions dollars !?!

- 3.2 billions, yes, yes, and even then they say that the investors couldn't get any money out of it and they were gonna let the other fund go, BUT, one of these funds was called High Grade Structured Credit Strategies Fund, and the other one was called the High Grade Structured Credit Enhanced Leverage Fund.

- Well that sounds very good, yes-

- Does it, isn't it ?-

- Very trustworthy-

- Actually, this is the magic of the market, what started of in lending a few thousand to an unemployed black man in the street to invest, has become a High Grade Structured Credit Enhanced Leverage Fund.

- I like the sound of it.

- It, it's, it's good, it's sounds very trustworthy, I mean, it's got good words in it, it 's got words like, haa, eeerh, High ?

- High is good.

- High is good !

- Yes.

- Better than Low anyway !

- Sure !

- Yes.

- Absolutely !

- And Structured is not a good word ?

- Very good !

- Enhanced ?

- I love Enhanced !

- Enhanced is very, yes-

- I'd buy anything if it says Enhanced !

- Absolutely, yes. It might have been different if it's said The Unemployed Black Man In The Street Invest Fund, but, but, but, it, it-

- Yes, because then alarm bell might start to ring. But despise these very applausable names, surely the reality is that the people that lent all this money are being incredibly stupid !

- Oh no, no. No, in reality, one was stupid, is for, at some point somebody asked "How much money these houses are actually worth ?". I mean, if he hadn't bother to ask that question, then everything would have gone on perfectly as normal, but then, but unfortunately he did.

- I see, but now, you see, people are saying the crise is likely to turn into a financial meltdown, I mean, can't that be avoided ?

- It can be avoided, provided that governments and central banks give us, the financial speculators, back the money we've lost.

- But isn't that rewarding greed and stupidity ?

- No, no, it's rewarding what Prime Minister Gordon Brown called "the ingenuity of the market".

Structured investment vehicles eh

[GuidoHunter]

It's common practice in journalism to refer to the president as "Mr. [lastname]". Often, it's preceded by a single use of "President [lastname]", but after that it's all Mister.

That isn't political rhetoric; it's a practice that's been around for decades at the very least.

--Guido

[irionman]

The president can be referred to as "Mr. (insert name)", "Mr. President", or "President", or even "hey ******"

[Ohaider]

I'm Mr. Stupid Teenager.

[Cavernio]

User, you clearly can't trust what anyone says or does where you live. At anytime when say "I hear X all the time", stop, remember where you live, shake your head sadly, and look forward to moving.

I'm pro-choice, but pro-life is perfectly named. No abortions mean more lives, hence pro-life. There's no bandying that.

[hi19hi19]

Originally Posted by GuidoHunter

It's common practice in journalism to refer to the president as "Mr. [lastname]". Often, it's preceded by a single use of "President [lastname]", but after that it's all Mister.

That isn't political rhetoric; it's a practice that's been around for decades at the very least.

--Guido

If I recall correctly, the advent of this occured during wartime to save on ink. Similar to the widespread removal of the serial comma ("Oxford comma") in printed news.

[Reincarnate]

Originally Posted by GuidoHunter

It's common practice in journalism to refer to the president as "Mr. [lastname]". Often, it's preceded by a single use of "President [lastname]", but after that it's all Mister.

That isn't political rhetoric; it's a practice that's been around for decades at the very least.

--Guido

This is true, but there are tons who use it in a derogatory way under the guise of gray-area/plausible deniability because it pisses liberals off (same way with how you sometimes hear "Democrat Party"). It's like trolling in the right context.

[~kitty~]

Originally Posted by Cavernio

User, you clearly can't trust what anyone says or does where you live. At anytime when say "I hear X all the time", stop, remember where you live, shake your head sadly, and look forward to moving.

I'm pro-choice, but pro-life is perfectly named. No abortions mean more lives, hence pro-life. There's no bandying that.

However, pro-life can indirectly mean more deaths as Earth is becoming overpopulated as it is. Deaths in other living things, and death among other humans can result.

[Emanresu13]

Originally Posted by Reincarnate

It's just part of the antagonistic rhetoric.

Obamacare instead of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - everybody calls it this, now
Death Tax instead of Estate Tax - tax
"Pro-life" as a way to make "pro-choice" folk look like they're "against life" - "pro-choice" as a way to make "pro-life" folk look like they're "against choice" - oh wait they are lol (at least on this issue)
Democrat Party instead of the Democratic Party - i don't get it
Enhanced Interrogation instead of torture - should probably call it "light torture" but that wouldn't be well received
Redistribution of wealth instead of taxing the rich - might hit the rich harder (usually doesn't), but not an incorrect phrase
Broadening the tax base instead of taxing the poor - pretty much
Welfare queens instead of poor black women - they are royalty though
Tax relief instead of tax cuts - is this really a thing? wow.
Job creators instead of wealthy citizens - this depends
"Defense of marriage" - this whole issue is stupid
"Trickle-down economics" instead of, well, taking the piss - lol hey, this is fine in theory; just like communism is fine in theory
"War on Christmas" - more like war on christians amirite
"Class warfare" - class warfare is legit, but the term is misused
Climate change instead of global warming - a liberal rebranding, no?
Government takeover instead of healthcare reform - still more gov't bs, but everything is out of control anyway so it doesn't matter much

The list goes on and on and on and on - yes it does. this was fun

Originally Posted by Reincarnate

This is true, but there are tons who use it in a derogatory way under the guise of gray-area/plausible deniability because it pisses liberals off (same way with how you sometimes hear "Democrat Party"). It's like trolling in the right context.

seriously, what's wrong with "democrat party"?

Originally Posted by ~kitty~

However, pro-life can indirectly mean more deaths as Earth is becoming overpopulated as it is. Deaths in other living things, and death among other humans can result.

far reaching, i like it

[Reincarnate]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democrat_Party_(epithet)

[Emanresu13]

i sort of figured it's to imply democrats aren't "democratic", but ffs that's just silly silliness

for anyone to get offended, wow

for anyone to use this as a slur in a non-humorous context, wow

people. -_-

[rushyrulz]

Mr. Obama is my dad, call me Barack.